Obituary of Keith Edward Napier

Keith Napier, soldier, fisherman ADVERTISEMENT Advertise Here Ads by Google Photo Restoration $24.99 High Quality Restoration Service. No Quotes. Flat Fee. Easy and Fast. www.chitracreations.com Prospecting Stinks Stop Wasting Time and Money on Leads and Cold Calling. See How. The DNA Ancestry Project Discover your ancestry with DNA. Find ethnic and geographic origins. At one point in the late 1980s, Keith Napier held the distinction of being an Army staff sergeant and the third-ranked bass fisherman in the state of Oklahoma. Life in the military and life on the lakes, two things that always appealed to Napier. The Independence native died Sunday - one day before Memorial Day - at Hospice Care Center of Northern Kentucky at St. Hospital East in Fort Thomas. He was 50, and although he saw many corners of the world in his military and personal travels, his most recent home was where he grew up, Independence. When he graduated from Simon Kenton High School in 1975, Napier enlisted in the Army, the start of a 16-year career that saw him serve in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm. "It was really very important to him," his daughter, Stephenie Caudill of Raeford, N.C., said of her father's time in the military. "Just to serve his country." But he was hardly one to boast of his contributions. "He didn't really talk about it much," his daughter said. He developed skin cancer while in the military and was disabled, and ultimately died of lung cancer. Throughout his adult life, "he was an avid bass fisherman," Caudill recalled. He reached the top echelon of sanctioned bass fishing while stationed in the Army in Oklahoma. In his later years, he enjoyed hitting the lakes in the Crittenden area. Other survivors include his wife, Karen Joy Back Napier of Independence; daughter, Adrienne Napier of Independence; son, Carl James "C.J." Napier of Independence; sisters, Gail Napier Burkhouse and Regina Ann Napier, both of Independence; brother, Terry Wayne Napier of Independence; his mother, Pauline Boggs Napier of Independence, and five grandchildren. Funeral services will be 1 p.m. Thursday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Independence. Visitation will be there from 11 a.m. to time of services. Burial will be in Independence Cemetery. Memorials to Keith Napier family, care of Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, 11382 Madison Pike, Independence, Ky., 41051.